The example of Belarus shows that hesitating about sanctions is not an option when dealing with terrorist regimes.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin After the bloody crackdown on the opposition in Belarus, the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk and the smuggling of refugees to the EU’s external border, harsh sanctions were imposed on the regime of Minsk dictator Alexander Lukashenko. But Lukashenko did not falter economically. On the contrary: the Belarusian economy grew last year, and the growth can be attributed to an “export miracle” – exports to the EU of all places have doubled despite all the sanctions.
In the first three quarters of 2021, the EU imported 96.1 percent more from Belarus than in the same period of 2020, according to data from Belstat, the official Belarusian statistical agency.
One reason is the sharp rise in the price of raw materials: during the supply chain crisis in 2021, Minsk exported products that were particularly in demand, such as wood, potash for fertilizer and oil products. “Lukashenko was lucky in that Belarus was able to sell goods it couldn’t sell in previous years, and at much higher prices,” said Pavel Slunkin of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Too many loopholes for Lukashenko
In addition, the development can also be attributed to the “hesitancy of the EU to impose sanctions that would harm its own members,” commented the Eastern Europe special service “Business New Europe”. And so “it continues to be dependent on Belarusian exports such as fertilizers and diesel fuel”. “Countries like Italy, Hungary, Austria and Belgium are not ready for tougher sanctions because they would harm them,” added Slunkin.
Top jobs of the day
Find the best jobs now and
be notified by email.
The USA only actually banned the potash exports of the Belarusian fertilizer company Belaruskali in December. In addition to the Western sanctions, the International Monetary Fund also provided Minsk with a loan of one billion dollars to fight the pandemic last year.
“Too many loopholes have been left, and Lukashenko and his henchmen are using these loopholes, abusing international laws and knowing how to circumvent the sanctions,” said Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader who lives in exile in Lithuania. Lithuania, which is the most vocal against Minsk, has not blocked Klaipeda, the main port of Belarus for potash exports, and the Lithuanian railways for potash exports.
Belarus is not the only harshly sanctioned country that has been able to increase its exports contrary to the West’s declared intentions. Iran, against which then US President Donald Trump imposed the “toughest sanctions ever” in 2018, increased its foreign trade (excluding crude oil exports) in the first nine months of the current fiscal year to the end of December to 122.5 million tons worth increase $72.1 billion.
Belarus ranks second among US-sanctioned countries
The volume increased by 11 percent and the value by 38 percent, Iran’s customs administration Irica announced. According to Irica chief Alireza Moqaddasi, exports of Iranian petrochemical products accounted for 42 percent of total exports and their value rose 40 percent to $14 billion.
The record holder for US sanctions in 2021 was China with 100 individual US sanctions ahead of Belarus (96), Russia (95) and Myanmar with 76 individual sanctions imposed last year, according to Washington’s Treasury Department.
More: Germany loses its special role for Russia – one comment